Leaders & Institutions
RNS Daily Digest
By RNS Blog Editor — April 19, 1996
c. 1996 Religion News Service Maine’s Episcopal bishop takes leave after admitting extra-marital affair (RNS)-Bishop Edward C. Chalfant of the Episcopal Diocese of Maine will take a voluntary year’s leave of absence in the wake of the revelation that he was involved in an extra-marital relationship.”I have made grievous errors in judgment and behavior,”Chalfant said […]
TOP STORY: THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IN EUROPE: France emblematic of dissent in European Catholicism
By RNS Blog Editor — April 5, 1996
c. 1996 Religion News Service PARIS (RNS)-Two months ago the French Bishops’ Conference surprised many of the country’s 42 million Catholics when for the first time it appeared to reverse church policy by endorsing the use of condoms to prevent the spread of AIDS. Progressives welcomed the decision as a step toward liberalizing church rules […]
TOP STORY: DISSENT AND THE CATHOLIC CHURCH: Excommunication decree sows confusion, outrage
By RNS Blog Editor — March 30, 1996
c. 1996 Religion News Service (RNS)-Three U.S. Catholic bishops are among the members of Call to Action, a liberal Catholic organization targeted in a sweeping excommunication threat by Lincoln, Neb., Bishop Fabian W. Bruskewitz. Bruskewitz said March 19 he would excommunicate Catholics in his diocese who refuse to quit Call to Action and 11 other […]
COMMENTARY: Catholic dissent and a bishop’s abuse of power
By RNS Blog Editor — March 30, 1996
c. 1996 Religion News Service (Andrew M. Greeley is a Roman Catholic priest, best-selling novelist and sociologist at the University of Chicago’s National Opinion Research Center. His home page on the World Wide Web is at http://www.greeley.com. Or contact him at his e-mail address: agreel(at sign)aol.com.) (RNS)-The Irish have a word that perfectly describes Bishop […]
NEWS STORY: Bishop threatens to excommunicate Catholics in `incompatible’ groups
By Adelle M. Banks — March 26, 1996
c. 1996 Religion News Service (RNS)-The Roman Catholic bishop of Lincoln, Neb., is threatening to excommunicate Catholic members of a dozen groups whose ideas he considers incompatible with church teachings. Bishop Fabian Bruskewitz said he has forbidden Catholics in his southern Nebraska diocese from belonging to Planned Parenthood, the Freemasons, the Hemlock Society, Catholics for […]
TOP STORY: THE CATHOLIC CHURCH: Ousted French bishop makes cyberspace his pulpit
By RNS Blog Editor — March 26, 1996
c. 1996 Religion News Service PARIS (RNS)-He was removed from his diocese by Pope John Paul II for spouting progressive views. But one year later, Monsignor Jacques Gaillot has eluded the church by connecting with followers on the World Wide Web. Often described as the church’s first”virtual bishop,”Gaillot says he will not be denied his […]
RNS Daily Digest
By RNS Blog Editor — March 21, 1996
c. 1996 Religion News Service Southern Baptist leader Charles Stanley’s wife drops divorce suit (RNS)-Television preacher and prominent Southern Baptist pastor Charles Stanley appears to no longer be in danger of losing his pulpit now that his wife has dropped a divorce suit against him. Anna Stanley filed for divorce nearly three years ago, but […]
Publicity-shy priests guide two Catholic papers
By RNS Blog Editor — March 20, 1996
c. 1996 Religion News Service (RNS)-Two national Catholic newspapers sold last year to a group with ties to an obscure priestly order, the Legion of Christ, have moved from California to Connecticut. And the New Haven suburbs have become the U.S. base for the priests, familiarly known as the Legionaries, one of Catholicism’s rapidly growing […]
Russian Orthodox suspend ties with Ecumenical Patriarch
By RNS Blog Editor — February 29, 1996
c. 1996 Religion News Service (RNS)-As the Russian Orthodox Patriarch Aleksy II presided at a liturgy Feb. 23 in Moscow’s Cathedral of the Epiphany, he omitted from the day’s prayers the name of the pre-eminent leader of Orthodox Christians worldwide, the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I. It was a startling omission, the first time in the […]
NEWS ANALYSIS: Episcopal Church weighs question of doctrine in heresy trial over gays
By Carl Anderson — February 29, 1996
c. 1996 Religion News Service WILMINGTON, Del. (RNS)-For a generation, Episcopalians have struggled with the issue of how gays and lesbians fit into their denomination, especially the ranks of the clergy. Over the years, the debate has produced a flurry of studies, resolutions, statements and counter-statements along with a handful of controversial ordinations of non-celibate […]
TOP STORY: THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH: Historic heresy trial of Episcopal bishop gets under way
By Carl Anderson — February 28, 1996
c. 1996 Religion News Service WILMINGTON, Del. (RNS)-Invoking Scripture, age-old tradition and even speed-limit laws, a pair of secular lawyers Tuesday (Feb. 27) thrashed out the question of whether the Episcopal Church has a “doctrine” forbidding the ordination of homosexuals to the priesthood. The day-long argument before a panel of nine bishop-judges was the first […]
TOP STORY: THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH: Heresy trial could be dividing line for Episcopalians
By Judy Peet — February 23, 1996
c. 1996 Religion News Service NEWARK, N.J. (RNS)-The Rev. Barry Stopfel, rector of St. George’s Church in Maplewood, N.J., a Newark suburb, opens his packages cautiously these days. He worries that his address is in the phone book and that his car is too accessible. He hopes his fears are unfounded, but given the quality […]
Pope urges resolve on celibacy among African priests
By RNS Blog Editor — February 22, 1996
c. 1996 Religion News Service VATICAN CITY (RNS)-Reflecting his concern about the failure of many priests to fulfill the rigors of their chosen lives, Pope John Paul II on Tuesday (Feb. 20) urged Tanzania’s bishops to”foster an unfailing commitment to holiness and a renewed dedication to the apostolate.” The pope, whose message appeared to be […]
National Religion Report
By RNS Blog Editor — January 18, 1996
c. 1996 Religion News Service (Following is a collection of domestic religion stories compiled from RNS staff, wire and denominational reports). Parishioners shun visit by female Episcopal bishop (RNS)-The Rev. Arthur Woolley of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Bladensburg, Md., an opponent of women’s ordination, vowed to”use every means at my disposal”to block a visit […]
NEWS STORY: Episcopal court breaks heresy case into two parts
By Carl Anderson — January 16, 1996
c. 1996 Religion News Service (RNS)-Did retired Episcopal Bishop Walter Righter commit heresy when he ordained a non-celibate homosexual as a deacon in 1990? A nine-member Episcopal Church court was scheduled to decide that question Feb. 27-29 at a trial in Wilmington, Del. But now the church has announced that before the court can weigh […]
